Monday, May 23, 2016
'Explore Blog by Ranger Mike Fitz: Another summer with Holly and her cubs?' Another summer with Holly and her cubs? "Last week, Brooks River’s most famous bear family—435 Holly, her biological (now 2.5 year-old) female cub, and her adopted (now 3.5 year-old) male cub—were seen for a brief time at Brooks River. Last fall, the future of this family was a target for much speculation. Would 435 keep her cubs for another year? Or, is it time for them to go their separate ways? It may be too early to answer those questions definitively. Katmai’s mother bears usually keep their cubs for two to three summers before separating from them. The cubs’ emancipation happens in spring after the bears emerge from their dens and is not voluntary. Hormonal changes, likely related to the return of the mother bear’s estrus cycle, cause her to become increasingly intolerant of her offspring. While I’ve never seen this separation occur, it’s been described as somewhat sudden and aggressive. The cubs may not know what’s coming. “It must be a traumatic experience for the juvenile bears to be evicted by a mother who has fed and protected them all their lives,” mused Will Troyer, one of the first biologists to study Katmai’s bears. This is an event every bear must endure as it matures. But, late May is here and Holly still has her cubs. Does this mean the cubs will be spared from separation until next spring? Some evidence suggests they still may go their separate ways. In early May 2008, 408 CC returned to Brooks River with her three 3.5 year-old offspring. We watched them play near Brooks Lodge before they disappeared into the forest. When 408 came back that July, she was single. She drove away her cubs sometime between those two events. Bears at Brooks River usually don’t vary in the amount of time they keep their offspring. If they wean them at 2.5 years, for example, then they are likely to wean subsequent litters at that age as well. 435 Holly weaned her only known surviving offspring, 89 Backpack, when he was a 2.5 year-old. We know that bears separate from their offspring at this time of the year, and Holly’s biological cub from her current litter is 2.5 years old, the same age as 89 Backpack when he was weaned. However, it would be a mistake to use these anecdotes as absolute predictors for this bear family in 2016. So much of this family’s history is atypical. The stress of separation might be great for newly weaned cubs, but a mother doesn’t do it out of malice. Nor does she “choose” to keep her cubs to be nice. The mother’s biology will dictate the family’s separation or continued unity." 'Meet Ranger Daniel Lombardi, Visual Information Specialist:' Ranger Daniel Lombardi introduces himself with his first bearcam comment "Hey all, My name is Daniel and I'm the new Visual Information Specialist here at Brooks Camp. I'll be helping manage the Bear Cams, social media, the park blog and more this summer. I'm excited to chat with all of you and share all the great stories that take place here in Katmai National Park. I wrote up a blog post from my first big bear encounter last week as a way of introducing myself. You can read that here: ''https://www.nps.gov/katm/blogs/Brooks-Camp-Week-One.htm ''We'll be online here on this comment thread on Wednesday at 4:00PM Alaska Time to answer questions. Things are real busy around Brooks Camp as we prepare for the summer season and it's looking like the cams will go live sometime in late June." 'Ranger Daniel Lombardi's KNP&P Terrane Blog: Brooks Camp, Week One:' "Dark clouds grey and black press down on dead spruce trees and turn over in a slow boil that fills the sky. The air is thick with misty rain and the deep thunder of Brooks Falls. I follow a faint trail and shout out loud every few moments in attempt to alert any nearby bears to my presence. The last thing I want to do is surprise or frighten a bear (almost all Brown Bear attacks are defensive in nature) but I’m not expecting to see anything. This is my first week here and only a few bears have been sighted so far, mostly outside camp, and from far away. The seasonal park rangers have spent the past few weeks at Katmai headquarters in King Salmon training and preparing for the season ahead when people, salmon and bears will descend on Katmai National Park en mass (peaking in July). Now in Brooks Camp, I’ve been working with Ranger David and others to prepare for my role as Katmai’s new Visual Information Specialist. I will be helping manage the Bear Cams, social media, this blog, and more. '' ''The trail winds around fallen birch and grass tall enough to polish my belt. I haven’t heard or seen a human in several hours. The river is only twenty five yards ahead of me as I round a thick clump of trees and glance up to take in my first view of the falls. But I don’t see the falls, I only see a hulking mass of a brown bear at the edge of the river. Its coat is a mix of dark brown and wet black. On all fours its shoulders stand about equal to mine. ''Time slows. I feel my adrenal glands release a mix of hormones into my blood. My stomach drops and a lump forms in my throat, blood has moved away from my digestive system, my body is ready for fight or flight. '' ''Growing up in Montana and working many seasons for Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming I have seen many bears, brown and black, in my life. I have even had quite a few close encounters. Before moving here I expected the salmon and the volcanos to really capture my interest but I wasn’t sure that I’d be all that moved by the bears. I was wrong and this is the biggest bear I’ve ever seen. '' ''My heightened senses immediately register the wind direction. This bear can’t smell me and it’s not looking toward me. I’m shouting out “Hey bear!” but the thunder of the falls is all either of us hear. Park rules say I need to be fifty yards away from this animal. I say, if it suddenly notices me and perceives a threat, fifty yards will be much too close. '' ''I side step through thick vegetation as quickly as I can, stumbling over grass, trying to not run, if the bear sees any frantic movement it could trigger a defensive or predatory instinct. I head toward the falls platform one hundred yards away. I keep my eyes on the animal as I move but with only fifteen yards to safety I break this cardinal rule and look away as I scramble onto the platform. '' ''Feeling slightly safer from my elevated perch I run to the railing and look down for the bear but it’s gone. Needless to say, I’m thrilled be a ranger here in Brooks Camp and I can’t wait to share stories about Katmai with all of you this summer." '' Katmai National Park & Preserve shares a video of 435 Holly, her 2.5 year old female biological cub, and her 3.5 year old adopted male cub: Ranger David Lombardi captured video footage of 435 Holly with both of her cubs at Brooks Camp on May 21, 2016. Ranger Tammy Carmack, Bear Technician, provides the audio information in the video by Ranger Daniel Lombardi, Visual Information Specialist. (add here) (add here)